The international patent application published as WO2011087436 discloses a carrying system comprising an ergonomic back plate which is substantially covering the entire back of a user, a first carrying strap adapted to extend from a first position of an upper section of said back plate over a first shoulder of a user substantially diagonally downwards towards solar plexus of said user, a second carrying strap adapted to extend from a second position of said upper section of said back plate over a second shoulder of said user substantially diagonally downwards towards solar plexus of said user, a third carrying strap adapted to extend from a first position of a lower section of said back plate under a first arm of said user substantially diagonally upwards towards solar plexus of said user, and a fourth carrying strap adapted to extend from a second position; of said lower section of said back plate under a second arm of said user substantially diagonally upwards towards solar plexus of said user. The carrying system is characterized in that at least one of said carrying straps are provided with a connecting body which is fixated at its end, and each and one of the remaining carrying straps are provided with a fastening body which is fixated at its end, wherein said at least one connecting body is adapted to connect said respective fastening body.
Such a carrying system provides a simple and easy-to-use lock-and-release system for the carrying system, but either requires many release operations to release all straps of the carrying system or releases all straps simultaneously thereby causing a user to potentially drop a load being carried with the carrying system. The carrying system of WO2011087436 also requires multiple fastening actions. The system is furthermore adapted for two-hand use to be operated safely and efficiently.
There is thus a need for a carrying system that can be operated quickly requiring few operations, but safely without risking dropping the load being carried with the carrying system.
It is an object of the teachings of this application to overcome the problems listed above by providing a carrying system adapted for quick, but safe operation, through a clever and insightful arrangement of a connecting body and carrying straps some of which have fastening bodies and some of which are (removable) fixed to the connecting body. This object is achieved by a technique defined in the appended independent claims; certain embodiments being set forth in the related dependent claims.
According to a first aspect of the teachings herein a carrying system is provided, said carrying system comprising a first carrying strap adapted to extend from a first position of an upper back section of said carrying system over a first shoulder of a user substantially diagonally downwards towards the stomach area or solar plexus of said user, a second carrying strap adapted to extend from a second position of said upper back section of said carrying system over a second shoulder of said user substantially diagonally downwards towards the stomach area or solar plexus of said user, a third carrying strap adapted to extend from a first position of a lower back section of said carrying system under a first arm of said user substantially diagonally upwards towards the stomach area or solar plexus of said user, and a fourth carrying strap adapted to extend from a second position of said lower back section of said carrying system under a second arm of said user substantially diagonally upwards towards the stomach area or solar plexus of said user. The second and fourth carrying straps are provided with a connecting body which is connected to an end of each of the two carrying straps, and each and one of the remaining first and third carrying straps are provided with each a fastening body which is connected to the corresponding end of said carrying strap, wherein said connecting body is adapted to connect said respective fastening bodies.
Such a carrying system enables a quick, simple and safe removal from a carrier as it provides an easy release mechanism which quickly disengages two straps while two straps are fixed to the connecting body thereby effectively forming a safe carrying strap which the user can use to carry a load or to movably manipulate the carrying system. This is especially beneficial when the carrying system is arranged on a rucksack or backpack. The arrangement of the carrying straps and the connecting body enables such a rucksack or backpack to be carried over one shoulder or to remain hanging over one shoulder when the buckle is released. This allows a user to more freely release the connecting body from the fastening bodies.
In one embodiment each and one of said fastening bodies is adapted to be pressed into the connecting body and locked there, and wherein said connecting body comprises one or two adjacent to each other placed release buttons adapted to disengage the fastening bodies of the two carrying strap from the connecting body so that the carrying system may be disengaged from a carrying user. The use of release buttons provides an easy and quick manner of releasing the carrying straps to allow a user to quickly and easily disengage from the carrying system. In the case of two release buttons, the placement adjacent each other allows a user easy access to both release buttons for simultaneous manipulation thereby providing a release system which is very easy to use and operate.
In one embodiment each and one of said fastening bodies is adapted to be pressed into the connecting body and locked there, and wherein each fastening body is arranged with a release portion adapted to disengage the fastening body from the connecting body so that the carrying system may be disengaged from a carrying user and wherein said release portions are arranged to be placed adjacent each other when locked in the connecting body to enable easy access to said release portions. The use of release portions integrated into the fastening bodies provides a lock-and-release system that is robust while being simple and cheap to manufacture as it contains few moving parts. Such release portions also provide an easy and quick manner of releasing the carrying straps to allow a user to quickly and easily disengage from the carrying system. As the two release portions are arranged to be placed adjacent each other when locked they provide a user with an easy access to both release portions for simultaneous manipulation thereby providing a lock-and-release system which is very easy to use and operate.
In one embodiment the release portions are arranged in a recess of said connecting body and wherein said recess is arranged between said two respective fastening bodies when said fastening bodies are pressed into the connecting body to enable easy one-handed disengagement of the carrying system from said carrying user. By arranging the release portions in a recess a user is both intuitively and physically guided to the release portions for disengaging the carrying system in a simple manner. The guiding provided by the recess also facilitates one-hand operation of the release portions which further simplifies the operation of the lock-and-release system of the carrying system. The placement of the recess between the second and fourth carrying strap allows a user to secure the effective carrying strap being formed by the first and third carrying straps in cooperation with the connecting body with a part of one hand (for example a thumb), while operating the release portions with one or two fingers (for example long and index or index and ring fingers) of the same hand thereby enabling easy one-hand handling and operation of the carrying system.
In one embodiment the connecting body has a substantially round or circular periphery in a plane defined by (a longest extent of) said recess to enable easy one-handed disengagement of the carrying system from said carrying user by providing an ergonomic gripping position. The rounded shape of the connecting body is beneficial for one-handed use in that it provides an ergonomic grip for the palm or heel of a user's hand when operating the release portions with one or more fingers. The rounded shape also enables easier one-handed gripping as the rounded shape of the periphery causes the periphery to extend beyond the first and third carrying straps and their connection to the connecting body thereby forming a gripping surface suitable for gripping between (the base of) a user's thumb and the heel of the hand of the thumb.
In one embodiment the connecting body comprises at least one locking guard for protecting the release portions from accidentally being unlocked. This is a great advantageous since it otherwise may be easy to unlock the carrying system during certain movements.
In one embodiment the first, second, third and fourth carrying straps together form a cross when they are connected by means of said connecting body to enable a stable and ergonomic carrying position for the carrying system. This provides for a stable carrying of a load being carried with the carrying system as the cross shape effectively secures the load from moving in all directions, especially when utilized in combination with a backpack.
In one embodiment at least one of said third and fourth carrying straps is arranged with a tightening means for tightening the corresponding carrying strap. This allows the carrying system to be more rigidly secured to a carrying person for a more stable securing of the load.
In one embodiment the carrying system further comprises at least one strap cover which is arranged around the first and second carrying strap. These covers provide the carrying system with a softer contact with the shoulder and chest of the user.
In one embodiment the strap cover is detachable which allows the user to remove and change the cover depending on the application of the carrying system.
In one embodiment the strap covers is made of a washable material which allows the user to remove the cover and wash it so that it stays clean and fresh for a longer time and there by prolonging its service life.
According to a second aspect a backpack or rucksack is provided, the backpack comprising a carrying system according to above.
According to a third aspect an article of clothing or sports is provided, the article of clothing comprising an integrated carrying system according to above.
According to a fourth aspect protective equipment is provided, comprising a carrying system according to above, the protective equipment being protective equipment such as equipment for police and guard personnel.
According to a fifth aspect a connecting body is provided, the connecting body being adapted to be used in a carrying system according to above, said connecting body being adapted to be fixed at an end of two carrying straps, and said connecting body being adapted to connect respective fastening bodies of two carrying straps provided with each a fastening body.
The authors of the present application have realized that, after inventive and insightful reasoning, by arranging the carrying straps on one side of the carrying system to be fixed to the connecting body a full carrying strap is effectively formed for easy manipulation. The remaining carrying straps, which are provided with releasable fastening bodies, provide for a quick release that is simple to operate allowing a user carrying for example a backpack to quickly disengage one arm from the carrying system by pressing the release button(s) and thereafter easily and safely manoeuvre the backpack to disengage from the backpack and the carrying system. This is all achieved while providing an ergonomic and steadily secured carrying system.
The teachings herein find use in carrying systems such as backpacks and rucksacks, but also in protective equipment, life jackets, articles of clothing and tool belts or other carrying systems.
Other features and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will appear from the following detailed disclosure, from the attached dependent claims as well as from the drawings.
Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein. All references to “a/an/the [element, device, component, means, step, etc.]” are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, device, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless explicitly stated.